Functionally Appropriate 

Environments for Squirrel Monkeys, 

Spider Monkeys and Capuchins

Presented by Kari Bagnall, Founder & Executive Director

Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary – Gainesville, FL
Functionally Appropriate

Squirrel Monkey Environments

Scout, Eve and Betsy
Naturalistic Habitats

Trees are not only home to insects, they offer wonderful hiding places in 

case of an argument or if someone just needs some alone time.
Tree Climbing

Herbie and 

Kilroy enjoy 

sitting high up 

in the trees.
Squirrel Monkeys Enjoy Trees!

Judy seemed to remember her life before the lab. On her first 

day, she was outside climbing in the trees and catching bugs.
Naturalistic Environments

Earl felt this tree was planted in the wrong place, some monkeys, like 

Betsy here, are happy with any tree!
Tight Rope Walking

Ringo is an 

amazingly 

talented tightrope walker!

Van Gogh & Ernie are 

learning the ropes. 
Foraging

Joey and Earl enjoy digging in the dirt in search of 

all sorts of crawly things.
Gleaning Arthropods 

from Leaf Cavities

The squirrel monkeys roll the dead leaves between their hands in search 

of tasty insects, and sometimes what one finds -- the other wants.
Acclimating to Carestaff

and New Environment

Squirrel monkey trio: Manny, Moe and Jack.

We duplicated 

enrichments 

used by the 

lab in their 

enclosures, 

along with a 

few new items. 
Room for 57 Squirrel 

Monkeys?

We were given only a few months to 

prepare for 57 squirrel monkeys. 

A tall order, but our amazing staff 

made it happen.
Habitats & Buildings

Emerald City -- the new Squirrel Monkey Retirement Home.
Accommodations for the 

New Squirrel Monkeys
Outdoor Habitats & Runways

The squirrel monkeys arrived in July. We put up shade cloth, 

planted lots of plants and installed a mister system.
Outdoor Habitats

They had hula hoops at the lab, 

so we situated them in their outdoor habitats.
Outdoor Habitats

The squirrel monkey habitats offer many levels, 

from hammocks, ropes and trees, 

to shrubbery and ground cover for foraging.
Outdoor Habitats

The new squirrel monkeys really took to the outdoor life.
Indoor Enclosures

Even with the shade 

cloth and misters, the 

new squirrel monkeys 

had to stay inside the 

climate controlled 

building during the 

warmest times of the 

day, until they could 

acclimate to outdoor 

temperatures.
Indoor Enclosures
Variety, Choices and Friends

At Jungle Friends our squirrel monkey environments offer large 

naturalistic habitats with plenty of fauna and flora for enrichment. The 

monkeys have the option of going inside or outside, locking them in 

only during inclement weather. 
Functionally Appropriate 

Spider Monkey Environments
The “Thunderdome”

A group of four spider monkeys live in this 

habitat, which is 30’ x 60’ x 24’ high. 
Larger Runways 

The spider monkey’s runways are much 

larger and the forks are large and almost 

unmanageable, so we installed gates.
Spider Monkey Habitat

Spider monkeys use ropes for brachiating and swinging .
Spider Monkey Habitat

The spider monkeys also walk bipedal, so that needs to be taken into 

consideration when building and furnishing their habitats.
Inside Thunderdome
Environmental Enrichment

The spider monkeys use these barrels to hide in, swing in, sleep in 

and a place to get out of the rain or enjoy some alone time.
Social Groupings
Natural Enrichment

Spider monkeys are leaf eaters, so have plenty of edible plants and trees. 

Fruiting trees are especially nice.
Spider Monkeys Anointing 

with Fig Leaves

Mike is 

anointing with 

fig leaves.

And so is 

Clydette -- who 

is female!
No Fig Leaves -- No Problem...

Limes are also a favorite for anointing, 

It not only gives the monkeys a nice lime-fresh fragrance, 

citris is great for deterring bugs.
Functionally Appropriate

Capuchin Environments
Naturalistic Habitats
Capuchin Habitats

and Runways
Outdoor Furnishings

 Hammocks: under roof and in the sun & under the heat cave. 

 Jungle Gyms and metal ladders.

 Rope ladders and ropes with toys. 

 Hanging ropes and trapezes.

 Buckets and barrels. 

 Boomer Balls. 

 Sand box in middle of habitat under roof.

 Grounders (trees or stumps) on the floor of habitat.

 Perches extending to floor from heat caves, runways & H2O 

 Shrubbery, trees & plants including; Banana Plants, Bamboo, 

Wild Ginger, Canna Lilies, Cast Iron, Ferns, and others inside 

and outside of the habitat.

 Two or more Lixits (automatic waterers)
Jersey Learns about the

Automatic Water System

The Lixits, or automatic 

waterers, helps to relieve the 

worry of dehydration.

The monkeys also use them 

to bathe and cool down in 

the heat.

They have also been known 

to squirt other monkeys, and 

even our carestaff!
Capuchin Environments

Habitats are 

curved, not only 

for structural 

strength, but the 

curves give us 

“bump outs” to give 

separate areas for 

the monkeys to 

retreat to if there is 

a disagreement . 

There is plenty of 

shrubbery to hide 

in for privacy.
Monkey Delivery

These monkeys arrived in January and were actually delivered to Jungle 

Friends in their lab cages, which we used until we could release them into 

their outdoor habitats when the weather warmed up.
Monkeys were Offloaded

in Lab Cages into our Clinic 

Fortunately, we were able to roll them outside during the day to gradually 

introduce them to sunshine, fresh air, wind and rain.
New Enrichment Items 

were Added Slowly

The cages were stark, but included a hide box, a ring and a ball. We also 

introduced them to plants and new foods while they were in the clinic.
Bob Barker Medical Clinic 

The UGA Boys also 

arrived with their 

“home” cages. We set 

up these cages the 

same way they were 

set up at the lab.

They stayed in these 

cages until they were 

settled in and 

comfortable with our 

carestaff. 
Runway System

The runway system 

runs throughout 

the sanctuary 

connecting all of 

the habitats. 

We also have the 

drop-down chutes 

located at optimal 

locations 

throughout the 

sanctuary for safe 

capture. 
Runway System

Runways provide choices and make it easy 

and less stressful when moving monkeys to new habitats. 

The runways are also an important part of our socialization procedure. 
Drop-Down Chutes = 

Less Stress

Drop-down chutes on the runways are very helpful tools for a 

safe capture. Monkeys are easily moved from the drop-down 

chutes to the clinic or other habitats. 
Drop-Down Chutes 

and Walking Forks

Because the monkeys are fed in the runways and move through 

the runways into new habitats, they have no fear of the runways.
Releasing Monkeys into 

Habitats through Runways

We have released monkeys into the runways from squeeze 

cages and kennels. It is easiest with sliding doors, however, 

it can be done with doors that swing out.
Runways & Introductions

Runways are great socialization tools. Monkeys can meet in the runways 

with forks between them. The forks are moved gradually closer. If it looks 

like they will be a good match, one fork is removed. If they groom through 

the fork, we remove it and hope for a good outcome. We also use 

portable shade for the runways as shown in the first photo.
Social Grooming

Grooming is a natural stress reliever for monkeys.
Natural Enrichment

Heat lamps are attached to the outside of the habitats to heat the 

caves inside the habitats, which are controlled by thermostats.
Natural Enrichment

We cannot give the monkeys back the “wild”, so at Jungle Friends 

we create an “Almost Wild” environment. We want the monkeys to live 

as comfortable and as natural as possible.
Natural Enrichment

Monkeys love plants.
Natural Enrichment
Comfy Naptime Spots

Our substrates are natural:

grass, leaves, ground cover, mulch, dirt, sand and pine straw. 
Monkeys Love to Dig and 

Bathe in Dirt

Jersey enjoys a good dirt bath –

a little dirt can strengthen your immune system.
Foraging
Foraging Outside the Box

Samantha goes fishing
Shade Trees

We plant lots of trees, and even though we are in Florida, it can get cool. 

Trees that lose their leaves in the winter allow the sun to shine through.
Water Enrichment

Beat the heat with a pool, hose, or what we call “monkey rain”.
All Monkeys Deserve a Nice 

Place to Live!
Saving Monkeys

Promoting Compassion

Kari Bagnall, Founder & Executive Director

karibagnall@junglefriends.org

www.JungleFriends.org